Chapter Twenty-Four
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ottilie had slept fitfully. It seemed to be a problem most nights now, ever since the trouble with Fion and Damien had begun. She lived in hope that the dust would settle soon as people got used to seeing Fion and Damien together, but it was taking so long she wondered if she’d be able to cope much longer. But she also realised that it wasn’t about her at all. If she was feeling the stress, then she could only imagine what it was like for Melanie, or Corrine and Victor, or even Damien and Fion.
She’d seen Heath off early that morning and then got ready for work herself. Thankfully it had been uneventful, and her patients had all managed to stay away from any contentious remarks.
The day was warm, if grey and humid. There was rain in the air but nothing that promised to be heavy, and at least it stayed light now until well after nine, which meant far more time to enjoy the countryside Ottilie had been blessed with outside her home. Just before lunch, Ottilie sent a text to Stacey.
Wondering if you fancy a quick stroll later on? I could do with clearing my head. We could get some food afterwards. You’re welcome to eat at mine if you like.
Won’t you be with Heath?
He’s got stuff to do, will probably be late. He won’t mind anyway.
Walk sounds fun, dinner even better. There’d better be chips.
Ottilie grinned as she typed a reply. She could do chips, no problem. There was no better confidante in Thimblebury than Stacey. Ottilie could air some of her doubts and tire herself out in the process, and hopefully it would mean a better night’s sleep. And at the same time she could get an update on Chloe, her pregnancy and the plans for her to move in with her boyfriend. Ottilie couldn’t deny that although she knew Stacey would miss them, it was about time – for Chloe’s sake, at least – that she left home. She suspected that Stacey and Chloe’s relationship would be better for it, even if it didn’t seem that way to Stacey yet.
After helping Lavender to clean and lock up the surgery, Ottilie rushed home to change and then dashed over to Stacey’s house. Chloe answered the door, looking as bored and jaded as ever.
‘Yeah. Come in. Mum can’t find her shoes.’
Ottilie stepped over the threshold. She stood in the hallway and watched Chloe yell up the stairs.
‘Ottilie’s here!’
Stacey’s head appeared at the top. ‘Hey!’ She grinned. ‘Give me a minute. Is it raining out there?’
‘No,’ Ottilie said. ‘Not yet, but it might later – best to get something waterproof on.’
‘Right…’ Stacey disappeared again, and Ottilie heard her add, ‘if I can find anything.’
Chloe left Ottilie in the hallway and went into the living room. Ottilie wondered whether to follow and start a conversation but then heard her talking and decided she was probably busy messaging her boyfriend, so she didn’t bother. Instead, she got out her own phone and checked in case anyone wanted her. There was nothing new, apart from a few replies to enquiries about wedding venues. She’d go through those later when she saw Heath, so they could look together.
She’d just put her phone away when Stacey came down the stairs.
‘What’s with the plastic poncho?’ Ottilie asked with a grin.
‘I couldn’t find my cagoule,’ Stacey said. ‘This was the best I could do. It’s Chloe’s – she went to Alton Towers. Must have been for the rapids or something.’
‘I can see that.’ Ottilie nodded at the huge logo emblazoned on the chest of the cover-up.
‘Nobody’s going to care,’ Stacey said, taking it off and stuffing it into a pocket, even as she did.
‘It’s cute,’ Ottilie said.
Stacey opened the door and stepped out, Ottilie following her onto the path. ‘Where do you want to go?’
‘Shall we head towards Daffodil Farm?’
‘That hill?’ Stacey blew out a breath. ‘We’ll be knackered!’
‘Where do you want to go?’
‘Circuit of the village? It’s flat at least, and if it starts to rain, we can call at the shop and get Geoff to make us a cup of tea.’
Ottilie laughed lightly. ‘I thought you wanted to get fit.’
‘ Simon wanted me to get fit. I think I’ve already peaked, so might as well give up now.’
‘Come on.’ Ottilie took her by the arm and began to lead her towards the road out of the village. ‘Let’s at least have a go at the hill, and if we get fed up or the rain starts, we’ll come back down. A circuit of the village will take us five minutes.’
‘That was the idea,’ Stacey said, shooting Ottilie a sideways look but following her lead all the same.
They chatted as they walked, and it only took ten minutes of Stacey’s company for Ottilie to feel lighter. Chloe’s morning sickness had got worse, but other than that she was fine and healthy, and despite their intentions to wait, they’d found a flat they liked, though it was in Keswick, and Stacey thought that although it wasn’t too far by car, by public transport was a lot more difficult, and as neither Oliver nor Chloe could drive, Stacey worried she wouldn’t see much of them. Stacey and Simon were still madly in love, and though they hadn’t got as far as engagement, Ottilie and Heath’s upcoming nuptials and Chloe’s plans to move out had turned Simon’s thoughts to perhaps him and Stacey living together too.
As they reached the outskirts of the village, they could hear voices. And then they noticed a group of people speaking in earnest tones. Ottilie noticed Victor at first and then was surprised to see Corrine there – she didn’t venture into the village as often as he did. Then she saw Damien, Melanie’s sister, Penny, and her husband Leon.
‘What’s going on here?’ Stacey asked in a low voice.
‘I know,’ Ottilie replied. ‘Is it just me or do they seem stressed?’
‘They do a bit. Do we slip away and pretend we haven’t noticed, or do we go and ask?’
Ottilie glanced across at her, and Stacey smiled. ‘OK, I forgot who I was with for a minute. Of course we’re going to ask them.’
‘Hello,’ Ottilie said in a bright voice as they went over.
Corrine spoke first, her features taut with anxiety. ‘Oh, Ottilie. You weren’t coming up to see us, were you?’
‘Not especially, though we were going that way. Is everything all right?’
‘Nothing for you to worry about, lass,’ Victor said gruffly, though there was no unkindness in it.
‘Are you sure?’ Stacey asked.
Penny, Leon and Damien all exchanged a look that wasn’t lost on Ottilie. Victor and Corrine might have wanted to keep her and Stacey out of whatever this was, but they didn’t.
‘I don’t suppose you’ve seen Melanie on your travels?’ Damien asked.
‘Tonight?’ Ottilie frowned. ‘No. Should we have done?’
‘We, um…’ Victor hesitated. ‘Well, we don’t know where she is.’
‘You’re going to look for her?’ Stacey asked.
‘We thought we’d split up and see if we could find her,’ Leon said. ‘The weather’s moving in, and if she’s in the hills…’
‘She might not have the right clothes on,’ Penny finished for him. She looked like her mum – far more than Melanie did – and as she spoke, Ottilie could see the same expression of worry.
‘How long has she been out?’ Ottilie asked.
‘It’s hard to say,’ Corrine replied. ‘I thought she’d gone to bed for a nap. When I went to see if she was still asleep, the bed was empty – but I didn’t see her go out.’
‘And she hasn’t answered her phone?’
Damien held one up, and Ottilie went cold at the sight. She didn’t need to ask who the phone belonged to, and now that she saw it, she realised just why everyone looked so worried.
‘Want us to help?’ she asked.
‘Lass…’ Victor began, but she silenced him with a frown.
‘What I meant to say was, we’re here to help. Let us know what you want us to do.’
‘I think we should split up,’ Victor said. ‘See if we can’t spot her wandering somewhere. She hasn’t taken a car, so she can’t have got too far.’
‘Sounds like a good idea.’ Damien was doing his best to keep it together. He was trying to be calm and authoritative and acting as if everyone present didn’t recognise that he was a part of the problem. Ottilie could see it in his eyes, in his body language, in the way he forced himself to be vocal when it was clear he wanted to stay quiet. He felt responsible for Melanie’s disappearance, and the truth was, no matter how they were pulling together right now to find her, everyone agreed that he was. Even Ottilie, who couldn’t possibly hold it against him, could see that he’d played his part.
‘What if we go and look around the village?’ Stacey suggested.
‘We’ve already been up and down the streets,’ Corrine said.
‘Still,’ Penny said, ‘she might have doubled back, and now there are more of us, we can make sure. Me and Mum will do that.’
‘We’ll head up towards Hilltop,’ Ottilie said. ‘She might have gone to see Ann.’
She could see in Corrine’s expression that the possibility of Melanie being at Ann’s place was doubtful, but it had to be worth a try.
‘I’ll go along the river,’ Leon said.
Damien nodded. ‘Want me to go with you?’
‘Maybe go out towards Windermere. She might be on the road.’
Victor looked at Leon. ‘The river’s too big to do by yourself. We’ll do it between us.’
Everyone agreed to keep in touch and then fanned out to start searching.
‘This isn’t what I had in mind when I said I would go for a walk with you,’ Stacey said as they began the climb up to Hilltop Farm.
‘It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind either,’ Ottilie agreed. ‘Do you think she’s all right?’
‘Who knows? She hasn’t been herself, has she? Not for a good few weeks.’
‘I didn’t realise things were this bad, though.’
‘Joke’s on us if she’s in Ann’s kitchen having a brew and we’re all up and down looking for her.’
‘I presume Corrine rang the neighbours first of all. Honestly, I doubt she’ll be at the farm, but we have to start somewhere, don’t we?’
‘Don’t you have Ann’s number?’
‘Yes, but Corrine?—’
Stacey stopped on the path. ‘Call anyway. It’s got to be worth a minute just to see if she’s turned up there since Corrine checked.’
Ottilie got out her phone and dialled Ann’s number, but there was no reply. She locked it again with a shrug. ‘She’s not in.’
‘That’s weird,’ Stacey said. ‘She hardly goes anywhere.’
‘Well, if she’s in, she’s not near her phone. So there’s someone else for me to worry about now.’
They continued to trudge the steep path. The further up they went, the steeper and more uneven it became. Ottilie knew it well, but even though she went to Hilltop most mornings, she still struggled. It was almost as if the urgency in the situation was adding to the burden, testing her limits. She hoped to find Melanie up there, in Ann’s kitchen, with some mad excuse for why nobody had answered the phone, but not for a second did she think it likely.
After a minute or two where she and Stacey had fallen silent, it started to rain. Stacey groaned and then pulled the plastic theme-park poncho from her pocket.
‘At least you’ve got something,’ Ottilie said, zipping her own raincoat up. ‘Let’s hope Melanie has too, if she’s out in this.’
They were close to the top when Ottilie spotted a figure hurrying towards them. It was a woman but too far away to recognise. For a moment, she held her breath, praying that it would be Melanie. And then was almost disappointed to see it was Ann, until she got closer and could see the same worry in Ann’s face as she’d seen in Corrine’s earlier.
‘Am I glad to see you!’ Ann panted. She was in a woollen cardigan, and her hair was wet from the rain. She looked as if she’d left the house in a rush. ‘I can’t find Darryl! You haven’t seen him on the way up, have you?’
‘Darryl?’ Ottilie’s forehead creased into a deep frown. ‘No. We can help you look if you’re worried.’
‘He never goes anywhere without me. I can’t imagine what would have made him leave the house and not tell me.’
‘We’re looking for Melanie,’ Stacey said. ‘We might as well look for the both of them while we’re up here. I’m beginning to think something weird is happening around here,’ she added, though Ann didn’t react to the joke. She only nodded.
‘Could you? I’d appreciate it.’
‘I take it you’ve searched all the obvious places he might be?’ Ottilie asked.
‘Oh, yes. It would only be the outbuildings anyway.’
‘There’s nowhere else you can think of?’
‘No.’
Ottilie paused. This new development had changed things. Harsh as it seemed, right now she was more concerned for Darryl than Melanie. His difficulties meant he didn’t function like other boys his age. If he was lost, he’d be stressed and possibly out of control. He couldn’t think his way out of situations like others did, and the world outside his home scared him so much he rarely left it. He needed safety and security. She couldn’t imagine what had tempted him out of the house to disappear like this. As for Melanie, there was a cry for help all right, but there were lots of people out looking for her and she was, at least – Ottilie hoped – a functioning adult. For all they knew, she’d simply taken herself out for a walk and left her phone behind for some privacy.
‘Is it worth checking the fields past the woods?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know if he’d be there, but I don’t have any better ideas.’
‘What about the other side of the hill?’ Stacey asked.
‘The path that goes to the river?’
Stacey nodded. ‘Why don’t I take that one? You and Ottilie check over by the woods. Phone me if you find anything.’
‘You’ll be all right?’ Ottilie asked. ‘I daren’t let you out of my sight in case we lose you too.’
‘I’ll be fine – I’ll stay in touch.’ She looked at the sky. ‘The sooner we sort this mess, the sooner we can get out of the rain.’
Ottilie didn’t like them splitting up, but it made sense. She let Stacey march off in one direction, while she and Ann headed to a loose gathering of tall trees, hardly a wood at all, really. It was surrounded by fields owned by Hilltop, but since the death of Ann’s husband, they had lain fallow, Ann unable to farm them by herself. They were now overgrown with wild grass and flowers, and followed the contours of the land so that there would be hollows where it might be difficult to see someone walking. The boundaries were marked by low stone walls, some with sections crumbling or even missing entirely. Ann kept apologising for the state of her property, as if Ottilie somehow disapproved, and Ottilie couldn’t help but reflect on how surreal the situation was. Two people were missing – one her vulnerable son – and she was explaining why she hadn’t been able to cut the grass. Looking past the anxious chatter, however, Ottilie could see that Ann was scared and it was the only way to take her mind off her fears.
As they left a dip and walked onto a higher section, more of the walls became visible. And then Ottilie saw a flash of blue. She glanced to her side to see Ann had noticed it too.
‘Darryl!’ she cried, her stride quickening.
Ottilie kept pace as they dashed over the uneven ground, doing her best to watch where she was going. With her gaze on her feet as often as it was ahead, she was taken completely by surprise when a second figure appeared and climbed onto the wall to join Darryl.
‘Is that Melanie?’
‘Darryl!’ Ann shouted. This time her son turned around. He didn’t wave; he simply sat on the wall and watched her approach.
When they reached them, Ottilie noticed that Darryl was in a raincoat and wellies. It seemed he’d intended to go out and had prepared. Melanie, on the other hand, was in a soaking blouse, some tracksuit bottoms and was barefoot apart from some discoloured, mud-caked socks.
‘Darryl!’ Ann huffed, pulling him into an unwanted hug. ‘What are you doing? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!’
He pointed at Melanie. ‘It was raining.’
‘It’s still raining!’ Ottilie looked at Melanie. ‘Are you all right? People are looking for you too.’
‘Are they?’
‘Yes. Your mum and dad are worried. They couldn’t find you, and you left your phone there.’
‘I went for a walk.’
‘I can see that.’
She couldn’t quite work out the connection between Melanie’s impromptu walk and Darryl wandering off, but for the moment she was happy both had been found safe and well. At least, as well as could be expected. Perhaps it wasn’t quite the word for the state Melanie was in right now, but she seemed physically unharmed, thank God.
‘I’ve been all right,’ Melanie added. ‘Darryl’s been keeping me company.’
Ann frowned from one to the other, and Ottilie could imagine her surprise. Darryl didn’t really do social situations. He didn’t go and chat with people of his own accord, but something had drawn him to Melanie. It didn’t explain why he’d gone out, though. Had he noticed her wandering and gone to investigate?
‘I’d better phone Stacey,’ Ottilie said. ‘And text the others just to let them know they can relax.’ She looked at Ann. ‘Are we all right to go back to yours? Melanie can dry out, and Corrine and Victor can pick her up from there, if it’s OK with you.’
‘Of course,’ Ann said, taking Darryl gently by the arm. ‘I’ll get a pot of tea on.’ She glanced at Melanie, her face full of sympathy. ‘We can have a chat while we wait.’
Ann lit a fire and sat Melanie next to it and then bustled in the kitchen. She was clearly as perplexed as Ottilie at the events of the day, but she was so happy to have Darryl safe at home again that she didn’t seem as if she was going to let it worry her. Darryl was at the kitchen table with a mug of hot blackcurrant juice, looking at a book. Ottilie was sitting with Melanie.
‘Would it help to talk?’ she asked.
Melanie turned to her with a vague shrug. ‘What is there to say? You know it all.’
‘What about today? You really just went for a walk?’
‘Yes.’
‘With no shoes or coat?’
‘I forgot them.’
‘You weren’t…’ Ottilie paused, wondering whether to ask her next question. ‘You weren’t planning to do anything…you know. Anything that wouldn’t end well for you?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Never mind.’
Melanie stared into the yellow flames of the newly built fire. The wood was still damp, and tendrils of black smoke unfurled into the chimney. ‘I’ve lost him for good, haven’t I?’
‘He’s been out looking for you.’
‘Only because he feels guilty. If something did happen to me, he’d only care because it made him look bad.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
‘It’s my fault.’
‘It’s nobody’s fault.’
‘It’s mine.’
Ottilie wondered what had changed. For the past couple of weeks she’d been only too happy to point the finger at Fion for the collapse of her marriage. Damien too, and even Ottilie at one point, but this was something new. Something had made her re-evaluate. Something she’d been denying until now?
There was a lot Ottilie didn’t know, and perhaps would never know, but one thing was clear – Melanie needed help. Fliss had requested an intervention, but after today Ottilie was convinced they would have to upgrade it to urgent because she needed that help now, not a few months down the line. When she got back to work, she’d speak to her and fill her in.
There was a knock at the door, and a moment later Stacey came in. Ottilie couldn’t help but smile at the daft plastic poncho she was still wearing.
‘All’s well that ends well then,’ she said cheerily, studying Melanie as she did.
‘Yes,’ Ottilie said. ‘Victor and Corrine are on their way over.’
‘So, Ann says it was Darryl who saved the day.’
Ottilie nodded. The funny thing was, Darryl had saved the day, and he wouldn’t have even known it. He’d seen Melanie go past the window, and something about it had intrigued him enough to go out and follow her. He’d been quizzing her on what she was doing when they’d found him and Melanie on the wall. Ann had been as puzzled about his behaviour as Ottilie, and when they’d asked him what had made him go out, other than seeing Melanie, he hadn’t been able to give them an answer. At least, he hadn’t seemed very interested in giving them an answer. It appeared his adventure had been too much, and the first thing he’d wanted to do when he got back was sit at the table with some juice and look at his beloved train books.
Stacey pulled off her poncho and sat down. ‘So much for our walk. Do you think Victor will give us a lift home?’
‘I think he might have other things to worry about,’ Ottilie said, watching Melanie as she stared into the fire. ‘I’ll see how close Heath is, if you really want a lift.’
‘Simon might be free,’ Stacey said. ‘I’ll call him.’